"Sindhi Chateaux"

Spring with the warming sun eases the hardship of last months' harsh winter nights for large parts of the population, that had to endure without proper heating or hot water. But the elections are approaching and tensions grow, the frustration of a generation whose literacy rate is under 50% is increasingly directed into attacking citizens of other beliefs, usually in very poor neighborhoods. The police struggles with protecting the victims and their belongings and the investigations do not promise much hope for a swift punishment of the perpetrators. Increasingly worried by this senseless violence, friends tell me that they grew up peacefully in mixed neighborhoods and that religious affiliation was of no importance, not even a topic among students or families.

Pakistan International Airways is once again the airline of choice to Karachi - their motto: "Great People to Fly With" - and always good for a surprise. This time a giant Jumbo Jet is waiting at Benazir Bhutto Airport for a handful of passengers at the gate and the choice for a seat is left up to them. The fleet is slowly shrinking, as due repair works are more and more limiting the availability of aircrafts.

A visit at a Textile Factory in Hyderabad north of Karachi and we are warmly welcomed in the conference room with a cup of tea and various cakes from the famous "Bombay Bakery", that lets people as far away as Karachi rave. Another cup, another piece of another cake offered with the same friendliness and smile and with the tight schedule ahead first glances at the watch, and the cups are filled again. After having covered all possible topics of small talk, we finally dare to ask - looking at the empty seat at the head of the table - who we are waiting for, and the polite hosts look at us in surprise: They are simply waiting for us to finish the tea... which we then manage easily in a few seconds and proceed to visit the factory. Only male workers can be seen handling the production of light cotton fabric.

But the surprise grows even bigger at the affiliated motorcycle factory, where we see only women assembling the complex motors. The reason for this unexpected assignment is an equally surprising and convincingly short explanation by the manager: "Women have a much better technical understanding". Well, I have to repeat that, women have a much better technical understanding! I will have to invite my former physics teacher at high school, my driving instructor, and my beloved brother of two sisters, to meet this wise gentleman.

"Hero" is the name of this popular motorbike, seven hundred thousand of them produced every year, sold all over Pakistan and capable of easily carrying up to six people (babies on the lap, children and women in front and on the back, the ladies holding casually onto the shoulder of the driver with one hand for safety). Helmets, if at all, are solely carried by the male motorcyclists.

The main reason for our trip to Interior Sindh is to visit a project by the Swiss Red Cross, that is about to finish the construction of more than seven hundred small and simple two room houses for flood affected families. The houses are being built by the villagers themselves under the supervision and guidance of an expert team. The four hundred km drive to Dadoo stretches epically, the area looks arid and the fields stony and barren, the villages and hamlets poor. Hot peppers are harvested and laid out in the open to dry, giving a welcome change of color in the otherwise austere landscape. A look at Google Map at the iPhone confirms the feeling of slowly vanishing in this part of the country: no directions given to hold on to, no road important enough to be registered;  "in the middle of nowhere" gets a concrete meaning - nothing but a blinking spot on the display. 

After four and a half hours and two stops - one to buy a box of "Pringles" type "bursting flavor", ignoring the service of the restroom after inspection and one to buy another box of "Pringles", now of the new and fancy type "bursting with more flavor" (fully exploiting the whole range of eatables at the gas station) and no longer ignoring the restrooms (no inspection, just eyes closed), we are welcomed by the locals and invited by the "king of the village" into his chateau for tea and talks.

A two room house finished and furnished to perfection for our festive reception, the colorful walls got an extra elegance by applying a generous amount of glitter and the two male visitors receive garlands around their neck by every villager present in the room, fearing that suffocation would soon set in if there would be more such honoring gestures along the way. A distinct air freshener fills the room with a unique blend of flowers and perfume and Bombay Bakery's goods made its way even to this distant village. Heartwarming hospitality and every one inspects the adjacent bedroom - the young homeowner very stylish, with American sunglasses and big smiles and we try to communicate, keeping the decorous distance, not knowing that I will soon land in his arms in front of the whole happily laughing village, as he jumps to safe me from gliding into a slippery waterhole.

He proudly shows us bathroom and toilet - consisting of two small spaces, one with a water bucket, soap and a towel and the other one with a latrine. 

Building the houses, the aid workers quickly realized that along with the extreme poverty went a complete lack of hygiene, latrines were added to the project built and the villagers were instructed how to handle them. The government has not provided any assistance until now and the families are struggling to survive under the extremely harsh living conditions, when in summer the temperature raises over 50°C.

  

Back in Hyderabad and invited for tea at the estate of an influential feudal family, we enter a contrasting world and a real Chateau Versace with all the sophistication of the late Gianni. Mosaic floors with the head of the famous Medusa in the center, golden lusters in the shape of peacocks and their feathers on the lamp shades with matching turquoise silk curtains. Instead of tea we are unexpectedly offered a lavish breakfast (just coming from another fine breakfast at the hospitable guesthouse of a Swiss company operating in Hyderabad) - more fried eggs and omelets, counting close to a dozen eggs within the last 48 hours, and interesting talks with this family that has been politically active for generations. Their expressed concerns cover all issues that are so terribly visible to everyone's eye - schooling and healthcare being their personal priority. Elections are coming and our visit is covered by photographers and local television.

A long journey back to Karachi and I am happy to see in Jamshoro a general store that promises to cover all the basic needs for a common household - "Zahid Baloch General Store".